Wednesday, April 25, 2012

By Carol Pagaduan-AraulloStreetwise | BusinessWorld
It is quite easy for the Aquino government to arouse the people’s
anger at China bullying in the South China Sea considering what appear
to be clear encroachments on Philippine territorial waters and its
200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone under the UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea.

Couple this with the sense of frustration that the Aquino
administration and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are undeniably
militarily powerless in this recent confrontation over Chinese fishing
poachers protected by no less than two Chinese warships, the inclination
to run towards Uncle Sam and sic US might and firepower to make China
turn tail appeals to many pundits, whether professional or of the
barbershop variety.

And thoroughly misses the point. There is more to the conflict in the
Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal than an assertion of sovereignty arising
from rival territorial claims.

This is not the first time tension rose over alleged incursions in
the Kalayaan Islands which are also being claimed by the Vietnamese and
Malaysians aside from the Chinese. But while the news would hog the
headlines for a few days, not without a large dose of sensationalism
about the risk of a military confrontation, there had never been such
open clashes between Philippine and rival armed forces, with each side
eventually stepping down, resorting instead to diplomatic protests until
invariably the controversy simmers down and fades away..... MORE

04/25/2012
Cojuangco-Aquinos no longer own Hacienda Lusita — not after the
Supreme Court (SC), in a final landmark ruling, voted 8-6, to have some
4,000 hectares distributed to the farmer-workers of the hacienda, at the
land values set in 1989, which would amount to some P40,000 per hectare
or some P200 million — not the P1 million per hectare or P5 billion
that the Cojuangco-Aquino clan wanted as compensation.

That is
what can be finally called true justice to the farmers, who have been
screwed by the Cojuangco-Aquinos for decades on end, first, when the
clan’s then patriarch, Jose Cojuangco, bought the Luisita sugar
plantation from Tabacalera — get this — on a behest loan, courtesy of
Ninoy Aquino’s lobbying with then President Ramon Magsaysay not only for
the Cojuangcos to buy the hacienda from Tabacalera but also to ensure
that the then central bank and the GSIS would be guaranteeing an
American bank for the clan’s loan and the sale amount asked for by
Tabacalera.

Apart from this guarantee, the Cojuangcos reneged on
the agreement with Tabacalera to distribute part of the hacienda land —
after 10 years — to the farmer-workers..... MORE

The Pentagon has frittered away billions in taxpayer cash on not
fully tested arms, a government watchdog report says. While the policy
grants the military access to cutting-edge technology, the public can be
left footing the bill for faulty weapons.

A report issued by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Friday shed light on the controversial policy of “concurrency” which approves untested weapons for production and use.

“While
some concurrency is understandable, committing to product development
before requirements are understood and technologies mature, or
committing to production and fielding before development is complete, is
a high-risk strategy that often results in performance shortfalls,
unexpected cost increases, schedule delays and test problems,” said the report..... MORE

The much-maligned Transport Security Authority (TSA) is once again in
hot water after it accused an innocent four-year-old girl of attempted
gun smuggling as she hugged her grandmother in the security zone.

­In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, Michelle Brademeyer
describes the story of her family being detained as potential terrorists
by the TSA on a flight out of Wichita, Kansas. The TSA is responsible
for screening passengers as they board and disembark from planes.

Brademeyer
was passing through security checks with her mother and her small
daughter, Isabella. When the older lady triggered the metal detector,
and was told to go for a pat-down, Isabella ran over to and briefly
hugged her grandmother..... MORE

As long as the US military is treated ‘above the law’ by the
government, their victims among the civilian populace will not be given
justice.” – Bayan Muna-Southern MindanaoBy INA ALLECO R. SILVERIOBulatlat.com

In Zamboanga City, the progressive party-list Bayan Muna is calling
for an independent inquiry into the death of a local fisherman killed
by a speeding Boat manned by military forces of the United States. The
group said the death of 56-year old Ahbam Juhurin, a local fisherman
from Basilan should not be allowed to be swept under the rug.

Based on various media reports, US and Filipino troops of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were conducting maritime exercises in
Baluk-baluk, an island near Hadji Muhtamad Municipality in Basilan
Province on April 19. A Mark V Special Operations Craft was returning to
Zamboanga City when it rammed Juhurin’s fishing boat around 7 p.m.
that same day. The elderly fisherman was killed while his 26-year old
son remains in critical condition as of this writing. Colonel Ricardo
Visaya, commander of the 104th Brigade and Joint Task Force Basilan said
it was an accident and that no one is to blame.

VFA protects US troops from criminal prosecution

Ariel Casilao, Southern Mindanao Regional Coordinator of Bayan Muna,
said it has only been days since the US – Philippine Balikatan
Exercises formally started, but already a civilian has been killed. He
said the blame should be placed at the door of the Aquino government and
the militarist proponents of the Visiting forces Agreement (VFA).

“The US troops have immunity against prosecution from Philippine
laws because of the VFA. They have committed heinous crimes against
Filipinos and the Bangsamoro, but remain above prosecution. As long as
the US military is treated ‘above the law’ by the government, their
victims among the civilian populace will not be given justice,” he
said..... MORE

A week before May 1, as P125 wage hike proposal nears Congress
approval, the labor secretary and regional wage boards suddenly realized
there is a need indeed for a wage hike.By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com

MANILA – A week before May 1 Labor Day celebration, influential
Senator Chiz Escudero declared support for a P125 across-the-board
legislated wage hike. He said fears that a significant wage hike will
cause inflation to rise and companies to close down are unfounded. In
speaking thus, Senator Chiz joins the likes of Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao,
a boxing icon and famous media personality, who has declared since last
year his support for the substantial wage hike proposal.

Echoing the long-time criticisms of the labor groups of the apparent
failure of the country’s regional wage boards, Escudero also criticized
the wage boards for failing to give workers a “just wage.”

Some regional wage boards are currently deliberating on wage
proposals submitted by moderate trade union groups. But so far, Labor
Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has already dashed even the possibility that
the said regional wage boards may break off from tradition and start
granting wage hikes that are adjusted at least to regain lost purchasing
power due to inflation. Even before the wage boards in the National
Capital Region began holding public consultations, for example, Baldoz
has announced that wage hikes may be granted but not higher than P21
($0.49).

Escudero asserted the urgency of Congress stepping in to determine wages in the country.

The labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) immediately hailed last
Friday Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s declaration of support for a P125
across-the-board legislated wage hike, saying the influential senator is
a welcome addition to the ranks of legislators supporting the call. KMU
hopes Escudero can draw in more supporters to the cause..... MORE

THE Aquino administration has finally agreed to create an autonomous
Bangsamoro political entity for the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation
Front that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
In a deal signed by government chief negotiator Marvic Leonen and his
MILF counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal, in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, both
parties agreed that the new autonomous political entity will have a
“ministerial form of government.

The powers to be reserved for the national government are as follows:
defense and external security; foreign policy; common market and global
trade; coinage and monetary policy; citizenship and naturalization; and
postal service.

The power to enter into economic agreements, however, will be transferred to the new Bangsamoro entity..... MORE

It’s
final. Hacienda Luisita’s close to 5,000 hectares are to be distributed
to the farmer-workers while the Cojuangco-Aquino family ends up with a
compensation of a little less than P200 million, as against the family
seeking a compensation of P5 billion for the hacienda.

True to
form, President Aquino’s appointees, Associate Justice Lourdes Sereno,
Estela Bernabe and Bienvenido Reyes voted to allow an agency under the
control of Malacañang to determine the amount which the Hacienda
Luisita Inc. (HLI) is to receive as compensation for placing the sugar
estate under the government’s agrarian reform program.

A
restraining order was handed down by the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday,
freezing the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s P 1.8 billion contract
for the purchase of computers to be used for next year’s elections.

Speaking
to reporters at the end of the high court’s summer session in Baguio
City, Court administrator Midas Marquez said the tribunal consolidated
the three separate petitions challenging the deal between the collegial
body and the Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) to buy
80,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

Marquez also said the High Court will hear the cases in oral argument in a special en banc session to be held on May 2..... MORE

04/25/2012
President Aquino is still scouting for a suitable replacement for
erstwhile ambassador to China Domingo Lee and hinted that his search may
end outside of the realm of career diplomats as he would need an envoy
who would have extensive knowledge of and contacts within the Chinese
system and community — and preferably with Chinese blood.

“We’re
reviewing. The criteria is really different. It’s not basically just
career,” said Aquino as the Philippines continued to rattle diplomatic
sabres with China over the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

He
underscored that the next ambassador to China should be “somebody who
understands the nuances of Chinese culture, how their system works, has
developed contacts left and right to be able to reach the opinion makers
and those whose opinions really matter.”.... MORE

04/25/2012
The Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (Palea) has submitted a
manifestation to the Court of Appeals (CA) expressing its willingness
to participate in mediation with the flag carrier’s new management to
seek a settlement to the long-standing labor dispute.

“The new
management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) should recognize that the
solution to the flag carrier’s woes involves not only a refleeting of
its aging aircraft but more so the reinstatement of its skilled regular
workers,” said Gerry Rivera, Palea president..... MORE

Probers
from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have been tasked to
gather evidence for the possible filing of criminal and administrative
charges against policemen who may have been involved in the violence
that erupted during the demolition of a shanty colony in Silverio
Compound in Paraaque City last Monday, an incident which left one
person dead and 66 others injured.

Department of Justice (DoJ)
Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III issued the order after residents
accompanied by Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casio sought the DoJs assistance
in identifying the police authorities who participated in the demolition
and in holding them accountable for the incident.

Baraan said
charges of homicide with multiple physical injuries may be filed against
the policemen should evidence warrant them..... MORE